After reading the article about George Missak, owner of the Mediterranean Grille and the Blues Cafe & Bistro and his tax problems with the city of Richmond, I felt the reporter totally distorted the situation (“6th Street Vendor Jailed, Briefly, for Tax Evasion,” Street Talk, Jan. 23).

The article stated, “So is it right for the city to sentence a vendor to jail time if the city is the landlord of the deteriorating building?” has nothing to do with the circumstances. Mr. Missak collected the meals tax from his customers and failed to remit the money to the city.

I live in Henrico County, but my family frequents many restaurants in the city. I pay the meals tax with the expectation that the tax collected will be used by the city to help ensure that I have a safe trip into the city, not as a loan to the business that collects my tax.

Mr. Missak was not convicted of evading taxes but of evading the remittance of meal taxes collected from his customers.

Robert Murphy
Henrico County